Crystals!
Pilotta Stables
11 October – 30 November 2014
CRISTALLI! is an exhibition dedicated to Crystallography aimed at citizens and young people in particular. The exhibition is part of the national and international initiatives organised to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography during 2014.
The Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics and Earth Sciences boast a solid scientific tradition in the fields of Crystallography, Chemical Structuring and Mineralogy, in which they have represented a pole of recognised national and international importance since the 1960s. Locally, the presence of prestigious companies operating in the pharmaceutical, food, agrochemical and innovative materials fields makes crystallography a strategic tool for tackling innovation and development with the most modern instruments.
THE STRUCTURE
The exhibition is divided into 12 sections that illustrate the scientific principles of crystallography, the history of the discipline, the innumerable and sometimes unimaginable correlations with everyday life and the territory, and the correlation between crystallography and art:
-Crystals – objects of desire: the fascination of gems and minerals
– Crystals in history: Crystallography from Pliny to Haüy
– A look at crystals: techniques and experiments
– Crystals and symmetries: Escher and beyond
– The life of crystals: the birth and growth of crystals, from the Naica Caves to the Space Shuttle
– Journey to the centre of crystal: the atomic structure
– Crystals, chemistry and physics: colour, fluorescence and more
– Crystals and life: proteins and DNA
– Crystals in space: meteorites in Parma
– Crystals around us: applications in everyday life
– Crystals and art: the fascination of light and symmetry
– Crystals and Parma: the thousand faces of cheese, ham, ice cream, spas and medicine
– Do-it-yourself crystals: interactive activities for children
THE UNIVERSITY’S COMMITMENT
The Chemistry and Earth Physics departments fielded a staff of more than 20 lecturers, technicians and students to actively work on the design and set-up. Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students were also involved in the organising committee, contributing to the games and experiments section dedicated to children. The Communication Studies and Archive Centre of the University of Parma supported the colleges with great expertise and interdisciplinary vision. The University’s Museum Sector made a valuable contribution to coordinating the organisation. The Scientific Degrees Plan supported the involvement of schools and the production of teaching materials.
The Natural History Museum of the University of Parma opened its collections to illustrate the section on symmetry in nature, while the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and the SBiBiT Department of the University of Parma provided interesting material for the section on proteins and biominerals. Particular attention will be paid to the enhancement of the University’s heritage, with the exhibition of artefacts and historical instruments, ancient texts and iconographic material owned by the two Departments involved and works owned by the CSAC.
THE EXHIBITION AND PARMA
Locally, the presence of prestigious companies operating in the pharmaceutical, food, agrochemical and innovative materials sectors makes crystallography a strategic tool for tackling innovation and development with the most modern scientific instruments.
Researchers and experts from important local companies and institutions have actively contributed to the scientific realisation of the exhibition, underlining the close relationship between the world of crystallography and local realities: researchers from Chiesi Farmaceutici, researchers from Eridania Sadam, experts from the Gruppo Naturalistico Mineralogico Paleontologico Parmense, researchers from the Chemical Laboratory of the Salsomaggiore and Tabiano Spas, experts from the State Archives and the Palatina Library for the retrieval of material relating to the presence of crystals in the city’s ancient history.
